Warner Bros Acquires Yakuza Drama 'The Outsider'

EXCLUSIVE: Warner Bros has made a preemptive acquisition of The Outsider, a script for a period drama written by Andrew Baldwin that the studio is making a priority. The title character is an American who spent WWII as a POW in Japan. He stays in Japan after the war ends, and works his way through the rituals and hardships to become the rare outsider who gains membership in the Yakuza, the organized crime outfit. It was developed at Linson Entertainment, based on an idea by John Linson. He will produce with his father, Art Linson. They are executive producers of the FX series The Sons of Anarchy who also collaborated on The Runaways and Lords of Dogtown. Baldwin is repped by CAA and Anonymous Content.

24 Comments

Very surprised at the amount of period dramas WB has gotten involved in over past year. Good for them… I hope the bet pays off.

headscratcher • on Aug 1, 2011 1:58 pm

Not just period drama, but the even narrower niche of period gangster / crime drama. Warner has gotten involved in a ton of this stuff recently. Not sure why. None of them will top $100 mil domestic. Sure it is a more respectable and prestigious niche than say, cornering the market on Rom-Coms, but no more lucrative. It is not a strategy for replacing Harry Potter or tentpoles and the niche isn’t even a slam dunk to break even. Who knows what the thinking is here?

Frank Tien • on Aug 1, 2011 12:37 pm

will he battle it out with the American Master Ninja?

George Washington with an "O" • on Aug 1, 2011 12:50 pm

The white-haired fellow three from the right is my grandfather.

Rob • on Aug 1, 2011 12:59 pm

They already made this movie. It’s called ‘The Yakuza’ with Robert Mitchum.

D.Z. • on Aug 1, 2011 6:54 pm

Not to mention Brother. :)

FunkDubious • on Aug 2, 2011 11:33 am

No culture writes itself out of it’s own history so why do white people feel it necessary to insert themselves into everyone else’s?

Even if it were a true story I’d be interested in the Yakuza not in what some white person thinks about the Yakuza.

Can’t you just make a movie about one unique aspect of a thousands year old culture that has made countless contributions to human civilization without inserting Bradley Cooper?

Sounds like a great in to a Hollywood Yakuza movie. More so than The Yakuza or Black Rain.

Bamboozled • on Aug 1, 2011 4:17 pm

Leave it to Hollywood to tell a Yakuza story from some white guy’s perspective. ‘The Outsider’ is shaping up to be little more than a Japanese crime world version of “The Help” or “Out of Africa” in which some photogenic white person is used to play the “hero” and take the audience on a daring adventure into the land of exotic colored people. Why doesn’t Hollywood try doing a Yakuza-style epic with Asian American or Asian actors for a change? Must Hollywood execs “whiten-ize” every damn story for so-called ‘audience identification’ purposes? It’s beyond ridiculous!

Relax • on Aug 1, 2011 6:59 pm

It’s called ‘The Outsider’ not ‘Regular Yakuza Guy’. Chill.

Nobody Special • on Aug 7, 2011 5:04 pm

Then have them do an Asian-American climbing up the ranks of the Italian Mafia if they want “The Outsider.” White-washing and white-privilege” is not fooling anyone.

joe blo • on Aug 10, 2011 9:21 am

Well Jet Li climbs the ranks of white crime organizations all the time, in every movie. Doesn’t he?

akira americano • on Aug 19, 2011 6:20 am

In multi-cultural/international crime organisations, suchas drug smuggling or human trafficing,you can expect ppl of any race to be involved.

However, this scenario would be like jet li infiltrating and rising to the top of an italian american mafia in the late 1800s.
sammo hung = Don coleone or even acting as a high ranking mobster doesn’t fit, does it.

The only way this movie would make sense would be if the ex-POW is a lowly snitch for the yakuza throughout the film, i doubt so however.

amirite • on Aug 1, 2011 4:37 pm

So…. the last samurai but in WW2? Great… we need more stories about white guys “embracing” other ethnic cultures to become their leaders

jacksecret • on Aug 1, 2011 6:09 pm

I was in doubt too until I read the script – easily one of the best written offerings ive read in quite some time – its just awesome and not shocking that warners bought it

Benjamin • on Aug 2, 2011 9:28 am

Does anyone know the status of Occupied City at Warner Bros? Polly Johnsen optioned the rights last year, but there seems to be no further activity. It’s a great period true crime piece set right after the war in Tokyo. Very difficult novel to adapt but would be great.

Romeo • on Aug 2, 2011 5:28 pm

How about the real life/true story of a Japanese-American who joins the New York Mafia and rises to be the Colombo Family’s boss’ righthand man. Check out the book “Breakshot: A Life In the 21st Century American Mafia” (Simon & Schuster 2010). Got a starred review from Publisher’s Weekly. Feature, anyone?

Nobody Special • on Aug 7, 2011 5:07 pm

Oh, look, Hollywood is doing it again. Instead of an Asian-American getting the central protagonist role it’ll be the quintessential “white hero” here to save the day, chances are to sleep with the women, and take over. Just for ONCE, I want the Asian-American guy to be the “hero” and infiltrate a “white organization” and sleep with the white chick. Way to white-wash everything, Hollywood.

Olivia Phoenix • on Aug 11, 2011 2:48 pm

Everyone needs to chill out w/ the race crap. First of all, let’s be real: Is this film called “Asian Yakuza Dude?” And who cares if it’s a white guy, as long as it’s someone really fitting for the role who can ACT…I have a feeling the main protagonist AND the director are going to be huge. Yeah, Sung Kang might be better than Zack Efron and Justin Timberlake, but the fact is he (AND they) are just not big enough nor able to carry the weight of a project of this magnitude.

Second of all, who cares if the same formula is being used as long as it’s done better and/or differently? You can argue that the same formula is used in every single movie made with another one, whether more obscure or more popular. The fact that you’re so incensed over this one makes me think you’re taking it VERY personally and not too objectively.

Finally, look who’s producing– the Linsons have only produced quality work over the past few decades. None of their stuff is cheesy, overdone, or cheap. They’ll know how to turn a tried formula into an interestingly new one, albeit the same “ingredients.”

Like I said, don’t get your panties in a bunch too prematurely…wait for it to come out first.